SEC football updates: Here’s the latest news about fall sports on Aug. 17
It’s a big week for students and student-athletes in the Southeastern Conference.
Campus move-ins are under way and the first day off fall classes are this week at many of the league’s 14 institutions. Other SEC schools will get things started next week during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Preseason camps for the SEC’s football teams can begin Monday. Here is the latest news on how the conference and its teams are preparing for the week ahead.
South Carolina, SEC start practice this week
This week, practice becomes officially official in Columbia and across the SEC.
The Gamecocks report Monday and have their first official team meeting before diving into practices. USC will start in helmets only Tuesday and Wednesday, then lift and watch film Thursday, practice in shells Friday and Saturday before a day off Sunday.
No practice is open to the public or media because of COVID-19 concerns.
South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp is scheduled to meet — virtually — with the media at 4 p.m. Monday. USC coordinators Mike Bobo and Travis Robinson, along with select Gamecocks players, will talk with reporters Thursday.
USC players have been on campus since early June and have spent most of their football time doing weight training, conditioning and film review. That expanded in late July to larger team activities and walk-throughs. The coming weeks will include the Gamecocks’ first time in full pads and first contact since early March.
Hello, new 2020 SEC schedule
SEC teams know the revamped 2020 season schedule kicks off Sept. 26. By Monday night everyone will know what the full slate of games will look like.
The SEC will take two moments Monday to release the week-by-week, 10-game, conference-only schedule for the season. The new Week 1 for each team will be revealed on the SEC Network at 3 p.m. on “The Paul Finebaum Show.” The full — with dates attached — schedule will be made public at 7 p.m. on the SEC Network’s “SEC Now” show.
We know there will be two bye weeks for each team, including an open date mid-season for each school as well as another open date Dec. 12. The SEC Championship Game is Dec. 19 in Atlanta.
South Carolina’s home schedule will be Auburn, Georgia, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M. The Gamecocks will go on the road to Ole Miss, Florida, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and LSU. Of those, Auburn and Ole Miss were new additions to the USC slate.
According to the SEC, “The decision to limit competition to conference-only opponents and rescheduling the SEC Championship Game is based on the need for maximum flexibility in making any necessary scheduling adjustments while reacting to developments around the pandemic and continued advice from medical professionals.”
Mask issues and more at Alabama, Auburn
Auburn and Alabama were a topic of discussion over the weekend, and not because of football.
SEC campuses are reopening for the fall semester as the general student population returns. The return to campus and in-person classes, and the effects locally on COVID-19 spread, is seen as an important element in whether or not the SEC can proceed with a fall sports season.
The lack of mask wearing on Auburn’s campus was not lost on Tigers junior receiver Anthony Schwartz.
“Y’all said it’s safer on campus but I’ve seen crowds of people and none of them are wearing masks,” Schwartz posted to Twitter on Saturday. “Don’t get me started on how downtown was last night while I was driving through. Our coaches and medical staff have been doing their absolute best to keep us safe, I don’t want them to be blamed for whatever happens going forward.”
In Tuscaloosa on Sunday, a photo circulating of a crowd of people on campus — not social distancing or wearing masks — drew the ire of many. Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox were among those who took to social media Sunday to offer criticism.
“Who wants college sports this fall?? Obviously not these people!!” Byrne posted to Twitter. “We’ve got to do better than this for each other and our campus community. Please wear your masks!”
Maddox said law enforcement staffing would be increased accordingly, but called it a “damn shame that our officers ... who are working to exhaustion can’t have a few hours of down time.”
“We are desperately trying to protect @tuscaloosacity. We are trying to have college football season. We have been running details for 3 straight nights. @TuscaloosaPD is stretched thin between COVID-19 and these details. We will be requesting daytime help from #UAPD.”
Students began to move in at South Carolina’s Columbia campus over the weekend. The first day of class is Thursday. USC President Robert Caslen express optimism about student behavior during COVID-19.
No UGA players opting out
The Georgia Bulldogs will get started Monday, and with a full roster.
No players opted out with coronavirus concerns, football coach Kirby Smart told reporters Sunday.
Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason told ESPN on Saturday that “five or six” players have opted out of the 2020 season. That’s the most for one team in the SEC.
There are four SEC teams with players who’ve publicly said they’re opting out of the season, according to a list being compiled by Athlon Sports. That includes Auburn, LSU and South Carolina. The Gamecocks had two opt out — offensive linemen Jordan Rhodes and Mark Fox.
“Southeastern Conference student-athletes who elect to not participate in intercollegiate athletics during the fall 2020 academic semester because of health and/or safety concerns related to COVID-19 will continue to have their scholarships honored by their university and will remain in good standing with their team,” the SEC announced earlier this summer.
